Cable Committee discusses contract options

Wednesday

Mar 20, 2013 at 10:51 AM

SWANSEA — Members of the Cable Advisory Committee met with a representative of Comcast which is in the process of renewing its contract with the town, during a meeting held Monday afternoon at the School Administration Building.

Bill Hall

SWANSEA — Members of the Cable Advisory Committee met with a representative of Comcast which is in the process of renewing its contract with the town, during a meeting held Monday afternoon at the School Administration Building.

Gerry Buckley, senior manager for government relations for Comcast South Coast region, met with the members of the Cable Advisory Committee to go over the contract which expires on Dec. 31 of this year.

Mr. Buckley noted that Comcast is proposing another 10-year contract which is the maximum length of time they can negotiate for. They are completing a 10-year contract at the end of this year.

Mr. Buckley presented some statistics that showed that the approximate number of customers was 5,100, pointing out that it is a number that is fluid with households being added and others dropping off. He added the average access fee is $75 a month for the video bill only. The current annual funding coming from Comcast to the town is $155,636.

The Comcast representative noted that the proposed contract is "pretty much the same" as the contract that will be expiring.

Mr. Buckley explained that the franchise related cost in Swansea was almost nothing and that it is attached to the amount of extras the town requests. He pointed out that the line item can be $4 to $5 a month in many communities, depending on how much the town requires.

He gave the example of additional "drops" and live feeds coming from the source to the public. Mr. Buckley noted that most communities of Swansea's size would have a pair of feeds coming from a building. He noted that, in his experience, many communities that ask for the ability for a live feed, do not use all of the buildings that has that ability.

In Swansea, the high school and School Administration Building have live capability. There has been talk of adding the Police Headquarters community room to that list.

Fire Chief Peter Burke noted that not all of the originally planned "drops" had happened. Mr. Buckley noted that the lines were placed but no further orders were given tieing them to buildings. Most of the video return line buildings were in the central village area.

Committee member, Town Administrator James Kern noted that efforts will soon be underway to present a new Town Hall plan and that the new building would possibly be one of the buildings placed with a video return line.

Committee member Interim Superintendent Robert Monteiro noted that his department will be requesting funds to increase the band width for the internet use in the schools. Mr. Buckley pointed out that the present contract negotiations would be for cable television and that the internet and telephone are separate items from the video portion.

Mr. Buckley noted that, although it is separate from the video, the town might be able to get a good deal on the internet cost. Currently, the schools are on the town internet coverage and do not have to pay.

However, the schools have outgrown the band width, especially for video programs for the classrooms.

The committee hopes to set up a sub committee to review the contract and make a presentation to the entire committee before going ahead with negotiating further with Comcast.

Committee members included Supt. Monteiro, Chairwoman Frances Kelley, Sheila Samson, Fire Chief Burke, Executive Director of the Council on Aging Laurie Pimentel, John Medeiros, Debbie Kelly and Town Administrator Kern.